Partners in Crime-Eddie Munson x OC

Chapter 27

The demobats were dead. I wasn't sure how, but I didn't have the energy to waste on that thought. It was probably just a sign that Steve, Robin, and Nancy had taken Vecna out.

My head was spinning and everything felt fuzzy as I slowly limped over to Dustin and Eddie. The effort it took to make it over their left me practically gasping.

"How...is...he?" I rasped, slowing to a stop as I neared Dustin.

"Hel...Oh, God," Dustin's eyes widened as he took in my appearance.

"Guess we've both looked better, huh, princess?"

I felt my mouth widen in a smile as I looked down at Eddie. He was covered in blood and gashes, but he still managed a grin. A sob escaped me at the mere relief that he was still alive.

"Don't know...what you're talking about...s'just a scratch," I joked weakly.

"This isn't good. You guys, we have to get you to help. Helena, can you keep walking? I need to figure out how to get Eddie out of here." Dustin was looking around in a panic.

"It's okay, we got him. We can do this," I assured him. "I think...we can carry him out."

I coughed into my hand. The warm, stickiness of it made me tilt my head back to look at it. Blood covered my palm. We would have to go quickly if we were getting Eddie out. I wasn't sure how much longer the adrenaline in my veins would keep me going.

"Helena? Are you alright?" Dustin looked worried at the broken cough that racked my rib cage.

I plastered on a determined expression. "I'm fine. A little banged up, but I can keep going."

"If you're sure." Dustin surveyed me with a wary expression.

I ignored him and turned to Eddie instead. "You ready to get out of here, Ed?" I grinned down at him.

He took inhaled shakily and nodded. Dustin and I went to move him and his face twisted in a grimace. We had barely gotten him to sit upright when let out a strangled grunt and asked us to stop.

"Need a second," Eddie gritted out and Dustin stilled.

"Eddie, we have to get you out here and get you to a hospital," Dustin insisted.

"One second... I just...need..." Eddie trailed off before he looked up at me. "Hel, I didn't run away this time."

His eyes flashed with pride and  I gave him a small smile. "My brave hero. I've never been prouder of you, Eddie."

"Guys, we have to go," Dustin looked to me. "Do you still think you can help me carry him?"

I wanted nothing more than to just sit there and be able to talk to Eddie and stop for a second. I was tired and I had no doubt he was too. Taking another couple of minutes to just celebrate the fact that we were alive sounded heavenly, but Dustin was right. If we wanted to stay alive, we needed to get help.

I nodded. I wasn't sure I could keep my word on that, but I had to try. This was Eddie's best shot. Together, Dustin and I hoisted him up and he let out a cry of pain that broke my heart. It didn't last long, he lost consciousness pretty quickly. I didn't know if it was from the pain or the blood loss, but I found a pulse when I checked so I didn't care.

The two of us stumbled along as we carried Eddie. I had to bite down on my lip for most of the short walk to keep from crying. My shoulder and back had the deepest gashes and carrying Eddie wasn't exactly helping with the pain. I just tried to remind myself of all the stupid injuries I got as a kid for doing something dumb. If I could suffer through the pain for meaningless reasons, then I could do it for something that actually mattered.

The trailer was back in sight when I started feeling my vision blurring. Damn it, not yet. Time was definitely getting close to running out.

"Everything okay?"

Dustin and I's heads snapped up as we heard the male voice shout from up ahead. Steve, Nancy, and Robin were heading toward us in the distance. Relief washed over me. They were coming. They could help.

"Not really! Eddie's hurt pretty bad! We're trying to get him out of here, but Helena doesn't look so great either!" Dustin replied loudly to Steve.

Breathing became more difficult and I felt myself starting to sway. All the cuts where the bats had bitten and scratched me were starting to hurt less. It felt like a good thing, until I thought about it and realized maybe that wasn't a good sign after all.

"Dustin, we have to put him down," I gasped.

"What? Why? We're almost there," The young boy's brows furrowed in confusion.

"Dustin, put him down." My voice was firm enough that Dustin let us gently set Eddie on the ground.

Steve noticed us put him down and broke into a sprint over to us.

"Now will you tell me what's wrong?" Dustin asked.

I couldn't seem to catch my breath enough to explain to Dustin that I thought I was going to pass out and didn't want to drop Eddie.

"I...I didn't want...to...drop..." I never finished the sentence.

Just as Steve and the others got to us, I finally collapsed on the ground. Everything faded to black and it felt so good to rest for a second.